filed:

California Court of Appeal·Decided March 12, 2014·No. H039283·Unpublished

Opinion

Filed: 3/12/14 P. v. Castro CA6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, H039283 (Monterey County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. SS121558A)

v.

LEO ANTHONY CASTRO,

Defendant and Appellant.

I. INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to a plea agreement, defendant Leo Castro was placed on felony probation after admitting that he took property from another person. On appeal he questions for the first time the knowledge elements in six probation conditions restricting association and possession. He also argues that he was not given enough credit for presentence custody time. For the reasons stated below, we will affirm the judgment after ordering three probation conditions modified. II. TRIAL COURT PROCEEDINGS

A. THE OFFENSE

On August 14, 2012, defendant trained an Air Soft pistol on a man and took money and credit cards from the man’s wallet after defendant’s wife had lured the man from a gas station into their hotel room in Salinas with a promise of sex. Their motivation was partly to pay for another night in the hotel for their homeless family. The victim called the police from a convenience store across from the hotel. He reported that while he was pumping gas at a gas station, a woman waved at him from the door of a nearby third-floor hotel room. He ignored her and was flagged down by defendant as he was driving through the hotel parking lot. When he stopped to see what defendant wanted, defendant drew a firearm from a bag, racked the slide, and demanded money. The victim said that while he was calling the police, he saw defendant walk into the hotel room and contact the woman and three children. The police went to the hotel room and located two male juveniles, who said their parents had left to buy fast food. Investigation revealed that defendant’s wife had rented the room on August 8, 2012. The police were familiar with defendant and his wife. The police saw defendant’s car pass by the hotel and they pursued and stopped it. Inside the car were defendant, his wife, and a boy. The victim’s credit cards were in defendant’s pocket, except for one card that was near the driver’s seat. The victim identified defendant and his wife and the Air Soft pistol at the scene of the stop. A methamphetamine pipe was found in the driver’s side door. There was no child safety seat in the car. As the three children retrieved personal items from the hotel room, the police located another methamphetamine pipe in the room and additional identification that did not belong to defendant or his wife. Defendant and his wife were taken into custody. At the police department, the wife first characterized the victim’s money as a loan from a man with whom she had sex before, but not for money. When the police doubted her honesty, she admitted their plan was that defendant would rob whomever she lured into their room. Their children were in the stairwell, not in the room, while the offense was committed. She took the money immediately to pay the room rent. They tried to use the credit cards at fast food restaurants and a gas station but were unable to do so. Defendant’s wife admitted that they had obtained money this way before and that she and defendant both used

2 methamphetamine. In a police interview, defendant ultimately corroborated his wife’s latest version of the offense. B. PLEA AND SENTENCING

A complaint filed August 15, 2012, charged defendant and his wife with second degree robbery from “Victim #1” (count 1; Pen. Code, § 211)1, three counts of felony child endangerment (counts 2-4; § 273a, subd. (a)), and the misdemeanor of possessing drug paraphernalia (count 5; Health & Saf. Code, § 11364.1, subd. (a)). Defendant was also charged with misdemeanor driving with a suspended license (count 6; Veh. Code, § 14601.1, subd. (a)). On September 5, 2012, defendant waived a preliminary examination and the parties stipulated that the complaint would serve as the information. On November 14, 2012, the prosecutor asked to amend the complaint to allege grand theft from a person (count 7; § 487, subd. (c)) with the understanding that defendant would plead guilty to that charge and be placed on felony probation. Defendant initialed and signed a written waiver of rights form. Defense counsel stipulated there was a factual basis for the plea in the police report, and the waiver form itself recited that defendant had taken property from another person. Defendant acknowledged that his guilty plea was also an admission to violating misdemeanor probation from June 2012. At a hearing on December 14, 2012, defendant was released on his own recognizance and sentencing was continued until January 25, 2013. A probation report filed on January 24, 2013, stated that defendant had been placed on a year of misdemeanor probation on June 28, 2012 for petty theft.2 Sentencing

1 Unspecified section references are to the Penal Code. 2 There is a conflict in the record about the status of the misdemeanor case, as we will discuss.

3 for the probation violation was scheduled for January 25, 2013. The probation department calculated custody credits from August 14 to December 14, 2012, as 123 actual days plus 122 days conduct credit for a total of 245 days. The report included recommended dispositions of both cases. In the felony case, the report recommended suspending imposition of sentence for three years and placing defendant on formal probation subject to 21 conditions, plus the imposition of various fines, fees, costs, and assessments. Among the conditions was 180 days in jail with no credit for time served. The report also recommended “that probation be revoked, reinstated, and modified” in the misdemeanor case on the condition that defendant serve 305 days in jail consecutive to the other case with credit for 245 days served. At the sentencing hearing on January 25, 2013, defense counsel requested concurrent sentences and also pointed out that the recommendation called for serving “245 days on a 180 day misdemeanor.” The court acknowledged that was a problem and the probation officer offered a new recommendation of terminating the misdemeanor probation with credit for 180 days in jail (90 days actual custody and 90 days conduct credit), with the remaining 33 days of actual custody applied to the current felony charge. At the hearing, the trial court described the felony case as serious based on the impact of the couple’s conduct on their children. The court suspended imposition of sentence for three years and imposed most of the 21 conditions recommended in the probation report. The court imposed 365 days jail with credit for 65 days (33 actual days plus 32 days conduct credit) on the current charge. The court “revoked and terminated” probation in the misdemeanor case with credit for 180 days served; however, when the

4 courtroom clerk mentioned it was an “open case,” the court stated, “So, he’s to be sentenced on it? Probation is denied. Serve 180 days, credit 180 days.”3 Defendant’s wife’s counsel questioned proposed condition 18 in the probation report ‒ “Not associate with any individuals you know, have reason to know, or are told by the Probation Officer to be on any form of probation or parole supervision” ‒ pointing out that defendant and his wife were living together and trying to get their children back.

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